NEWARK, NJ—NJIT earned an 11-3 win over visiting Saint Peter's in the 2018 home opener for the Highlanders, paced by a pair of three-run homers by
Julio Marcano and
Justin Etts Tuesday afternoon at Riverfront Stadium in non-conference baseball action.
NJIT, which played its first 24 games on the road, and most recently defeated nationally ranked No. 22 Florida Gulf Coast on February 8, played its first home game of the season Tuesday, moving to 13-12 on the season, one game above .500.
Saint Peter's, still in search of its first win of the 2018 season, fall to 0-23 on the season.
Freshman
Julio Marcano delivered his first collegiate home run, a three-run homer, in the bottom of the first and finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and one run scored.
NJIT junior shortstop Etts, recorded his first home run of the season, a three-run shot in the bottom of the fourth, going 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored.
LF
Evan Pietronico went 1-for-5, driving in a pair of runs for the Highlanders in the bottom of the eighth while 2B
Tom Brady went 2-for-5, including a double, with one RBI and one run scored.
Three different Highlanders – RF
Michael Anastasia, 3B
David Marcano and C
Paul Franzoni each recorded a hit in the win. Franzoni notched his first collegiate home run to lead off the bottom of the sixth for NJIT.
Senior starting pitcher LHP
Brian Sondergard picked up his third win of the season, moving to 3-2, pitching three scoreless innings. NJIT used five pitchers to close out the game, as
Jared Kacso (fourth),
Brent Jones (fifth) and
John Saviano (middle of eighth and ninth) held the Peacocks scoreless.
Saint Peter's 1B Jesse Matos went 2-for-4 with one RBI while LF Anthony Ramos and 2B Nick Ciocco each drove in a run.
Peacock starting pitcher RHP Joe Albunia (0-5) took the loss, pitching the first six innings, letting up seven hits and eight runs.
NJIT struck first in the bottom of the first on a three-run blast by
Julio Marcano to left field, his first collegiate home run, giving the Highlanders a 3-0 lead. Anastasia and
Jesse Uttendorfer each walked in the inning and scored on the home run.
The Highlanders added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth on another three-run home run by Etts, his first of the season, giving the Highlanders a 6-0 lead.
NJIT plated a single run in the bottom of the fifth for a 7-0 lead on a two-out double to right center Brady, scoring
David Marcano, who started off the inning with a single through the right side.
The Highlanders continued its momentum into the bottom of the sixth with a solo shot by Franzoni, his first of his career, extending the NJIT lead to 8-0.
Saint Peter's scored its first run of the game in the top of the seventh on an RBI single through the right side by Matos and added two runs in top of the eighth on back-to-back RBI singles.
The Highlanders tacked on three runs in bottom of the eighth, pushing its lead to 11-3, after a single to right field by Pietronico, driving in a pair of runs and an RBI single by Anastasia.
NJIT will host ASUN Conference opponent USC Upstate this weekend, hosting the Spartans in a three-game series on Friday (6pm), Saturday (1pm) and Sunday (12pm).
